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Sida's Helpdesk for Environment and Climate Change www.sidaenvironmenthelpdesk.se
Contact: Gunilla Ölund Wingqvist [email protected] Team Leader: Anders Ekbom [email protected] Quality Manager: Eva Stephansson [email protected]
Environmental and Climate Change Policy Brief
Zimbabwe
Photo from pixabay.com
2016-04-13
Ulrika Åkesson,
Gunilla Ölund Wingqvist
Göran Ek Emelie César
ii
Executive Summary
This Environmental and Climate Change Policy Brief will inform Sweden’s cooperation
strategy process and provide analytic input to Sida’s preparation of a new strategy proposal
for cooperation with Zimbabwe (2016-2020). It is foreseen that the future cooperation shall
focus on improved environment, limited climate impact, and strengthened resilience against
environmental degradation, climate change and natural disasters, as one out of three areas.
The policy brief aims at presenting key environmental sustainability challenges and
opportunities in Zimbabwe, their linkages to poverty reduction and socio-economic
development. The assignment was conducted as a desk-study, based on available reports,
research papers and statistics. The lack of updated environment statistics is a major challenge
in Zimbabwe and should be considered when reading this policy brief.
The main environmental challenges facing Zimbabwe are: land degradation, deforestation,
inadequate quantity and quality of water resources, air pollution, habitat destruction and loss
of biodiversity, waste (including toxic waste), natural hazards (mainly recurring droughts),
and climate change (including rainfall variability and seasonality). Two main issues that stand
out are the country’s challenge in facing climate change - General Circulation Models
(GCM) indicate that most of Southern Africa, including Zimbabwe1, is likely to experience
temperatures 2-4o C higher in this century compared to the 1961-1990 average – and
unregulated infrastructural development and land use that contribute to deforestation, land
degradation and habitat fragmentation.
The poverty is widespread in Zimbabwe and it is estimated that the average poverty rate
exceeded 72% of the total population. In rural areas a third of the population live in extreme
poverty. Manifestations of poverty in Zimbabwe include inadequate access to natural
resources, including water and land, malnutrition, un-, or underemployment, unequal access
to good-quality education, and lack of agricultural inputs. Climate variability and change with
increased intensity and frequency of droughts and floods, negative impacts on economy, and a
high prevalence of HIV/AIDS, are other factors that enhance poverty.
Zimbabwe’s economy is natural resource-based and depends heavily on agriculture and
mining. The potential for economic growth in Zimbabwe is closely linked with development
of its natural resources including land, biodiversity and minerals.
The policy frameworks and the institutional set-up for managing environmental challenges in
Zimbabwe, with a few exceptions, seem quite robust. The main problem relates to
implementation and enforcement of existing legislation and policies, further hampered by a
lack of good governance, including lack of transparency and accountability, and weak
coordination and cross-sectoral cooperation.
Integration of environmental concerns in plans and strategies, poor capacity and coordination
among law enforcement agencies, highly sectoral and compartmentalised understanding of
development issues and a perceived lack of transparency and political will to enforce the laws
etc., are all challenges to environmental sustainability in Zimbabwe.
Based on the findings in this brief, the Helpdesk suggest the following areas to serve as ideas
for further discussions: agriculture, water, climate change adaptation, biodiversity and
1 Ujeneza Eva L ,· Babatunde J. Abiodun (2015):
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ecosystem services, tourism, forestry, mining, human rights, environment management,
disaster risk management and resilience, renewable energy as well as green economy.
Given Sida’s experience from and strong commitment to rural electrification in the Power
Africa programme interventions in the energy and climate change sectors could be seen as
areas where a Swedish added value could benefit the development cooperation activities in
Zimbabwe. But as the authors of the Policy Brief are not as close to the Zimbabwean
development context as the staff at the Harare embassy and Africa department at Sida HQ we
have not delved further into pointing out particular focus areas for Swedish interventions.
The environment is inseparable from the economy, poverty, health, livelihoods and food
security, which is why it is important for Zimbabwe to address its environmental challenges.
With the abundant natural resources in Zimbabwe, including land, biodiversity and minerals,
there is a great potential for economic development and eventually poverty reduction if these
resources are used in an environmentally sustainable way.
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Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................... ii
1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 5
2. Key environmental problems, their causes and opportunities ............................................ 5
3. What are the effects of the environmental problems? ........................................................ 8
3.1 Impacts on Poverty ........................................................................................................... 8
3.2 Impacts on Public Health ............................................................................................... 10
3.3 Impacts on Economic development ............................................................................... 12
4. Policy framework and institutional capacity for managing environmental challenges ....... 14
4.1. Integration of environment in the policy framework .................................................... 14
4.2 Governance, implementation and enforcement .............................................................. 16
5. Other issues .......................................................................................................................... 17
5.1 Green economy - Lessons learnt from green economy/green growth strategies in Kenya,
South Africa and Ethiopia .................................................................................................... 17
5.2 Sustainable energy .......................................................................................................... 19
5.3 Zimbabwe’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution .......................................... 20
5.4 Sustainable Development Goals ..................................................................................... 20
5.5 Human rights and environment & climate change ......................................................... 22
6. Risks and opportunities ........................................................................................................ 23
6.1 Risks ............................................................................................................................... 23
6.2 Opportunities .................................................................................................................. 24
7. Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 25
7.1 Ongoing Swedish support related environment and climate change ............................. 25
7.2 Issues for Sida to consider .............................................................................................. 26
References ................................................................................................................................ 31
Websites ............................................................................................................................... 32
Annex ....................................................................................................................................... 35
Annex 1. Impacts of natural hazards in Zimbabwe .............................................................. 35
Annex 2. South African Green Economy Strategy .............................................................. 36
Annex 3. Example of initiative to provide economic incentives for local communities in
wildlife conservation ............................................................................................................ 37
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1. Introduction
The Swedish Government has identified environment and climate change as one of three
thematic priorities for development cooperation2. This is reinforced by the “Aid Policy
Framework” (2014), which states that environmental and climate change aspects are a central
point of departure for all Swedish development cooperation. An analysis of environmental
and climate change aspects constitutes an important basis for a well-informed strategy
process.
This Environmental and Climate Change Policy Brief will inform Sweden’s cooperation
strategy process and provide analytic input to Sida’s preparation of a new strategy proposal
for cooperation with Zimbabwe (2016-2020). While the formal instructions have not yet been
provided by the Swedish government, it is foreseen that the future cooperation shall focus on
the following areas:
improved environment, limited climate impact, and strengthened resilience against
environmental degradation, climate change and natural disasters, specifically
generation of, and access to, sustainable energy, and the contribution of a green
economy to productive employment and entrepreneurship;
strengthened democracy, gender equality, and increased respect for human rights;
improved basic health.
The purpose of the policy brief is to give the Embassy of Sweden in Zimbabwe an overview
of the strategic issues to consider with regards to environment and climate change. It aims at
briefly presenting key environmental sustainability challenges and opportunities in
Zimbabwe, their linkages to poverty reduction and socio-economic development, in the
context of the given entry points and areas of cooperation for Swedish development
cooperation in Zimbabwe.
The policy brief was conducted as a desk-study in February 2016, based on available reports,
research papers and statistics. The lack of updated environment statistics is a major challenge
in Zimbabwe and should be considered when reading this policy brief. The ongoing
preparations of Zimbabwe’s fourth state of the environment report might provide a better
insight in terms of trends and status of the sector for better planning and management
purposes but it remains to be seen.3
2. Key environmental problems, their causes and opportunities
Zimbabwe, a landlocked, tropical country in southern Africa, has abundant natural resources
including land, biodiversity, and minerals. After South Africa, Zimbabwe is the most
industrialised country in the SADC region, with a majority of the industries situated around
the major cities. Mining and agriculture are the most significant economic sectors. The
country produces over 35 different minerals in over 1,000 mines4.
2 Government communication 2013/14:131, Aid Policy Framework – the direction of Swedish Aid 3 UNCT and Gov of Zim (2014) 4 Spong et al. (undated)
6
Zimbabwe is a semi-arid country with limited water resources. Although it shares one of the
world’s greatest water bodies, the Zambezi River5, it does not currently supply water to the
rest of the country, which is water-scarce in most parts.
Poverty is widespread and income inequality is high although stable since the mid-1990s
(Zimbabwe ranks as number 22 of 144 countries in the world in terms of inequality6).
Zimbabwe experienced a deteriorating economic, political and social environment since 2000,
with negative impacts on poverty, food security, service delivery, etc7. Zimbabwe’s economy
showed real growth again in 2010. 8
The key environmental challenges facing Zimbabwe are: land degradation, deforestation,
inadequate quantity and quality of water resources, air pollution, habitat destruction and loss
of biodiversity, waste (including toxic waste), natural hazards (mainly recurring droughts),
and climate change (including rainfall variability and seasonality)9. The environmental
challenges and their causes and drivers are summarized in Box 1.
Box 1: Environmental challenges in Zimbabwe
Land degradation10: Land degradation, including soil erosion and land pollution, is a serious problem in
Zimbabwe with significant consequences for agricultural productivity, particularly for people living in
poverty. Land degradation is caused by a number of factors such as: deforestation, uncontrolled veld fires,
sand extraction, artisanal mining, and poor land management in general (e.g. improper wetland utilisation,
over utilisation of arable and grazing land, agriculture expansion, and human- wildlife conflict).
Deforestation: The deforestation rate in Zimbabwe is very high, currently hovering around 1.9% (compared
to the southern African average deforestation rate of 0.5%)11. Between 1990 and 2005, 21% of its forest
cover12 was lost and the country has no primary forests left. The main causes of the deforestation are poverty
related and include: fuelwood collection and timber extraction, land clearing for cultivation, and energy for
tobacco curing. Low household incomes and high costs for other types of energy are driving forces.13
Water availability14: Zimbabwe is a semi-arid country and water, which is a key resource, is unevenly
distributed in time and space. Groundwater constitute an important source of water for both rural and urban
areas, but water availability is an increasing problem. Reduced water availability is caused by over-extraction
due to population growth, urbanisation and industrialisation, resulting in increased competition between water
using sectors. Weak water governance systems compounds the situation. Zimbabwe is currently facing one of
the worst droughts in a long time. In February 2016, Zimbabwe’s vice president requested aid, due to severe
droughts “with tens of thousands of cattle dying, boreholes drying up and dam levels falling”15.
Water Pollution of surface and groundwater is a concern, worsened by water stress. Water pollution is mainly
caused by inadequate or non-existent treatment of municipal and industrial wastewater and is increasing due
to population growth, intensive urbanisation, increased industrial activities and high exploitation of cultivable
land. Key sources of water pollution include mining activities, industrial and manufacturing works, poorly
maintained sewage treatment works in urban areas, partially treated sewage effluent, leachate from landfills,
soil erosion and siltation, and fertiliser and pesticide use. 16
5 The countries sharing the Zambezi river are: Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 6 UNCT and GoZ (2014); and CIA World Factbook. 7 UNCT and GoZ (2014) 8 CIA World Factbook Zimbabwe 9 Spong, Booth and Walmsley (undated); and CIA World Factbook 10 UNCT and Gov of Zim (2014); and WWF (2015) 11 World Bank (2015) 12 Present forest cover of Zimbabwe is estimated at slightly below 15 million hectares, 40 % of the land area (FAO stat) 13 Mharapara, I. and S. Marongwe (2010) 14 FAO Zimbabwe Country Profile website; and UNEP (2013) 15 The Guardian website 16 Spong et al (undated)
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Air pollution (indoor and outdoor): Urban areas are affected by outdoor air pollution from traffic and
industries, while the extensive use of fuel wood is a major cause to indoor air pollution.
Loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services: Zimbabwe has a rich biodiversity, including plants, mammals,
reptiles, and birds, providing important ecosystem services, livelihood opportunities and income from
tourism. Despite Zimbabwe’s long history of biodiversity preservation17 the abundant biodiversity is being
lost, caused by: habitat destruction from expansion of agricultural lands, timber logging, fuelwood collection,
poaching, invasion of alien species, droughts, fires, and high elephant densities18. The distribution of people
and productive agricultural resources is uneven, leading to problems of land degradation, where large
numbers of people and livestock are concentrated on marginal lands.19
Waste and chemicals: Zimbabwe has local problems with heavy metals and chemicals, particularly around
mining sites. Toxic chemicals, such as cyanide and mercury, are used in a significant number of mines, and
metals (e.g. zinc, copper, iron, cobalt and nickel) contaminate land and water. A recent (2012) scientific
assessment of the water quality in the Save and Odzi rivers concludes that the rivers are heavily contaminated
from mining operations; massive siltation, chemical and heavy metal pollution has resulted in that the rivers
are not suitable for human consumption.20
Natural disasters: Drought is the major natural disaster risk in Zimbabwe in terms of number of people
affected, accounting for six out of 10 top major disasters in the country between 1991 and 2013. Flooding is
the natural disaster with highest economic damage, while epidemics are most acute and result in most
deaths.21 There are attempts by Zimbabwe to improve handling disaster risks and integrate them further into
planning, which will be explained further in section 5.
Climate Change: Climate change is likely to result in hotter days and fewer cold days than before. The
warming trend is already established with increased annual mean surface temperature. The timing and amount
of rainfall are becoming increasingly uncertain and the frequency and length of dry spells during the rainy
season have increased.22 Increasing temperatures of around 2.5°C by 2050 have been projected. Rainfall is
predicted to decrease in all seasons.23 A mapping study from 2014 highlight the following challenges
associated with climate change: brain drain affecting insights into knowledge and research needs and capacity
gaps, inadequate research and development facilities as well as low levels of awareness about climate change.
There are also political and institutional barriers which include inadequate planning capacity and weak
institutions, socio-cultural barriers (e.g. resistance to adoption of biogas cooking technologies) and financial
barriers which emerge from the recent economic crisis in Zimbabwe. The financial needs are already large o
handle the “business as usual” scenario and will be even greater to include the adaptation needs.
Many of the environmental challenges are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. For
instance, land degradation is partly caused by deforestation, which also affects biodiversity,
ecosystem services including water regulation and purification, resulting in reduced capacity
to buffer against drought or floods, and so on. Climate change is expected to enhance the
environmental stresses already experienced.
Commonly, the underlying causes to the environmental challenges in Zimbabwe include weak
legislation, but even more importantly, weak implementation and enforcement of the existing
legislation, poor institutional capacity, weak governance structures including inadequate
coordination, which is underpinned by corruption24. Furthermore, many of the environmental
problems are poverty induced, worsened by the political and economic difficulties during the
last decade.
17 WWF (2015) 18 Spong et al (undated) 19 Spong et al (undated) 20 MAC Mines and Communities, Zimbabwe website. 21 UNCT and Government of Zimbabwe (2014) 22 Chigumira (2015) 23 SARUA (2014) 24 Zimbabwe scores just 21/100 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index “Scores range from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).” http://www.transparency.org/country/#ZWE_DataResearch
8
However, there are also opportunities in tackling the environmental challenges. Poverty
reduction, combined with strengthened institutional capacity, including a strong and well-
enforced environmental legislation, enhanced public awareness and political willingness to
tackle these problems, there is a great potential in moving in the right direction.
3. What are the effects of the environmental problems?
Environmental degradation and a decline in ecosystem goods and services have drastic
consequences for human societies especially the poor, as they depend directly on ecosystems
and their benefits. The environment is a relevant issue, inseparable from the economy,
poverty, health, livelihoods, food security and climate change. The impacts of environmental
problems on poverty, public health and the economy are briefly described in this section.
3.1 Impacts on Poverty
For all environmental challenges there is a strong case that vulnerable groups, such as women
and children, will suffer the most. People in rural areas under high poverty levels and
dependent on natural resources are very exposed to environmental degradation and climate
variability and change. Therefore, protecting the environment is important for human
development, poverty reduction and long-term economic growth. The Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment25 concluded that efforts to reduce rural poverty and eradicate hunger are critically
dependent on ecosystem services, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ecosystem services are
of critical importance for adaptation to climate change as.healthy, well-functioning
ecosystems enhance natural resilience to the adverse impacts of climate change and reduce the
vulnerability of people. Ecosystem-based management offers a valuable yet under-utilized
approach for climate change adaptation, complementing traditional actions such as
infrastructure development. In addition to protection from climate change impacts, sustaining
ecosystem services also provides many other benefits to communities, for example through
the maintenance and enhancement of ecosystem services crucial for livelihoods and human
well-being, such as clean water and food.
In addition wise management of ecosystem services – as to promote wildlife and safari
tourism - can also provide jobs and income in a country with a fragile economy and limited
opportunities for formal employment In 2013 tourism accounted for a total of 11.4% of
Zimbabwe’s GDP and more than 418,500 jobs26 (sic) (direct and indirect contributions to
employment and GDP).
Improving environmental quality can furthermore contribute to improved gender equality, as
women in developing countries are found to be more dependent on common property
resources and more vulnerable to the negative externalities of natural resource degradation27.
The poverty is widespread in Zimbabwe and it is estimated that the average poverty rate
exceeded 72% of the total population in 2012, with highest poverty rates in rural areas (76%
compared to 38% in urban areas). Over 22% of the population live in extreme poverty (30% rural,
25 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment website 26 World Travel & Tourism Council (2016): 27 Hallegatte et al., (2011)
9
6% in urban areas). Furthermore, rural poverty is more prevalent in communal28 areas (79.4%)
followed by resettlement29 areas (76.4%).
Around 30% of Zimbabwe’s population live in urban areas, and a vast majority of the rural
people are engaged in agriculture (over 66% of total population) 30. A household, where
communal or resettlement agriculture is the main income-generating activity, is more likely to
be poor or extremely poor compared to households headed by permanent or even casual
employees.31
Manifestations of poverty in Zimbabwe include inadequate access to natural resources,
including water and land, malnutrition, unemployment or underemployment, unequal access
to good-quality education, and lack of agricultural inputs (in rural areas). Climate variability
and change with increased frequencies of droughts and floods, negative impacts of a declining
economy, and a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS, are other factors that enhance poverty.32
Unemployment or under-employed is an increasing problem in Zimbabwe, where 80% of the
population are not formally employed, with a significant proportion employed in the informal
sector.33 In 2011, the unemployment rate of women was more than twice that of men34.
There is a high dependence on fuelwood for almost all residents of communal lands, since
alternative fuels are either not affordable or not readily available, with large scale implications
on the environment35.
Food insecurity remains high due to the combined effect of recurrent droughts, occasional
floods and high unemployment. A 2014 rural livelihoods assessment report stated that a third
of Zimbabwe’s children are stunted due to malnutrition.36 84% of the food insecure people are
in the communal areas37.
The Fast Track Land Reform (FTLR) programme, introduced in 2000, has been accompanied
by a contraction of the economy and resulted in a plummeting agricultural productivity in
Zimbabwe affecting both food security and export earnings. Statistics from the World Bank
(2015) confirms that agricultural productivity in Zimbabwe is far below other Sub-Saharan
African countries38. In 2004, the productivity had decreased with as much as a third39. One
reason for the drop in agricultural productivity is the transferring of land from private
ownership to newly resettled farmers, who lease the land from the government. The
previously experienced farmers have been replaced mostly by subsistence farmers. However,
compared to communal farmers, the resettled farmers are more productive due to increased
access to agricultural inputs. Zikhali (2008) concludes that access to agricultural input appears
to be important for poverty reduction, and that poverty in itself has negative consequences for
agricultural productivity.40
28 A communal area is an area that under colonial rule was reserved for black subsistence farmers (Zikhali, 2018) 29 A resettlement area is an area that has been subject to redistribution of land. 30 CIA World Factbook Zimbabwe 31 UNCT and GoZ (2014) 32 UNCT and GoZ (2014) 33 GoZ (2012) 34 UNCT and GoZ (2014) 35 Spong et al (undated) 36 AfDB et al. (2015) 37 UNCT and GoZ (2014) 38 Zimbabwe’s cereal yield (crop per hectar) is about half of the average yield in Sub-Saharan Africa while the agricultural productivity (value added per worker) is about a third (World Bank, 2015). 39 Zikhali (2008) 40 Zikhali (2008)
10
However, it is not only the land reform that is impacting on food security; as many as a 26% -
50% of the population live on degraded land41 with major consequences on poverty and
agricultural productivity. Women, children and other vulnerable groups are generally
marginalised in the ownership and utilisation of natural resources and in the governance
structures.
Access to water and sanitation is on average higher in Zimbabwe than the average in Sub-
Saharan Africa, with 80% access to water (69% in rural and 97% in urban areas). However,
access to sanitation is low, only 40% (32% in rural and 52% in urban areas). Furthermore, the
water and sanitation coverage is unevenly distributed. Nyemba et al. (2010) shows in a study
of the water sector in Bulawayo, that water scarcity and the resultant impacts were more
severe in low income areas. The water distribution policy of Bulawayo city that was skewed
in favour of the low-density areas, exposing poorer households to greater environmental
health problems. Information about the rest of the country has not been found, but one can
imagine that the situation in other urban areas is similar to that in Bulawayo.
Drought, amplified by climate change and natural phenomenon as El Niño, is the most
common natural hazard and by far the natural hazard affecting most people: between 1990
and 2015 over 18 million people have been affected in Zimbabwe42. Until now the 2001
drought stands out as the most serious, affecting almost half of the country’s population (6
million people). Women and children, single headed and child headed families are most
vulnerable, and those living on marginal land. The impacts of droughts are multiple and have
long lasting effects of all facets of the economy and cuts across all sectors.43 The current
drought appears to be very severe and is likely to have enormous impacts on livelihoods and
poverty rates.
Climate change, which is regarded as one of the biggest threats to the people’s livelihood and
development in Zimbabwe44, is foreseen to have large impacts on livelihoods through impacts
on agriculture and water resources, including increasing occurrence of crop failures, pests,
crop disease, and the degradation of land and water resources. Zimbabwe’s poorer segments
of society will be disproportionately affected, as mainly the people living in poverty and
extreme poverty are communal farmers. Recent vulnerability assessments show that areas
regarded ‘excellent’ for maize will decrease from the current 75% to 55% by 2080 under the
worst case scenario45. Over five million Zimbabweans (almost a third of the total population of
14 million) live in semi-arid zones, and will suffer disproportionately from the emerging
impacts of climate change and variability, including natural disasters associated with extreme
weather events such as droughts, periodic flooding, disease outbreaks for both human and
livestock and loss of crop lands.46 Research shows that climate change has already caused a
shift in Zimbabwe's agro-ecological zones. Soil conditions and crop variety will be important
aspects in minimising the losses.
3.2 Impacts on Public Health
One specific manifestation of poverty is related to health. It is estimated that 12.6 million
deaths globally, representing 23% of all deaths in 2012, were attributed to environmental risk
41 UNEP (2015) 42 EM-DAT Zimbabwe, website 43 UNCT and GoZ (2014) 44 Grantham Research Institute, Climate Change Legislation in Zimbabwe, an excerpt from the 2015 Global Climate Legislation Study, A Review of Climate Change Legislation in 99 Countries, 2015 45 UNCT and GoZ (2014) 46 SARUA Climate Change Counts Mapping Study: Zimbabwe Country Report, 2014
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factors47. For Zimbabwe, the environmental burden of disease was estimated to 16% of the
total disease burden in 2004, i.e. below the global average48. However, environmental aspects
are interlinked with health issues in Zimbabwe: According to the health organization Riders
for Health (2012), diarrhoeal diseases are the third most significant cause of death among
children under five years in Zimbabwe. Malaria ranked in fifth place.49 Nyemba et al (2010)
confirms that there is a direct relationship between the intensity of water scarcity and the
prevalence of water-related diseases.
Natural disasters also affect people’s health. While droughts affect most people, epidemics
are often more acute and result in more deaths. Zimbabwe occasionally suffers from water-
related diseases. One example is the cholera outbreak in 2008, which resulted in over 4 200
deaths50. According to UNCT and GoZ (2014), the likelihood and frequency of
gastrointestinal infections (cholera, typhoid and dysentery) is high throughout Zimbabwe due
to inadequate provision of safe water, sanitation, personal hygiene practices and lack of
resources to sustain awareness campaigns particularly in urban areas. Obviously, considering
the unequal distribution of water supply and sanitation systems, the poor are more vulnerable.
According to UNCT and GoZ (2014) the challenge “is exacerbated by skewed focus on
preparedness and response instead of prevention and the lack of long term investment in water
sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure”51.
According to WHO (2009) 48 700 people die annually due to environmental risk factors52. Of
these are 6 700 annual deaths associated with diarrhoea caused by polluted water/bad
hygiene53, 3 800 deaths due to indoor air pollution, and 600 due to outdoor air pollution, see
Table 1 below. Water, sanitation and hygiene also play an important role in malnutrition.
Table 1 shows figures for Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia for comparison.
However, the figures should be interpreted with great care, especially in the comparison with
other countries, as the poverty rates in Zimbabwe has not improved since the beginning of the
millennium while many of the other countries have both reduced poverty and improved access
to water as a part of their efforts to fulfil MDG 7.
Indoor air pollution is a major problem in many developing countries, and over 4 million
people globally die prematurely from illness attributable to the household air pollution from
cooking with fuel wood. More than 50% of premature deaths due to pneumonia among
children under 5 are caused by the particulate matter (soot) inhaled from household air
pollution. This desk study has not been able to find information on the usage of fuelwood in
Zimbabwe, but World Bank (2015) data indicates that 64% of the total energy is produced
from biofuels and waste in Zimbabwe, which is higher than the Sub-Saharan average of 58%.
This could possibly be interpreted that the use of fuel wood is more widespread, with
potentially high effects on indoor air pollution and respiratory diseases, especially for women
and children.
47 Prüss-Ustün et al (2016) 48 WHO (2009). Zimbabwe country statistics (data from 2004 and onward). WHO website April 2016
http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/national/countryprofile/zimbabwe.pdf 49 The top five causes of death among children under five years: i) Neonatal; ii) HIV/AIDS; iii) Diarrhoeal diseases; iv) Measles; and v) Malaria (Riders for Health, 2012) 50 EM-DAT Zimbabwe, website 51 UNCT and GoZ (2014) 52 Estimates based on Comparative Risk Assessment, evidence synthesis and expert evaluation for regional exposure and
WHO country health statistics 2004 (WHO, 2009). 53 This figure only includes diarrhoeal diseases. Other water related diseases e.g. river blindness are not included in the estimates. Hence, the total number of deaths related to hygiene, water and sanitation is higher
12
Table 1. WHO estimated deaths & DALYs attributable to selected environmental risk factors
WHO Estimates
Water Sanitation & Hygiene Indoor air pollution Outdoor air pollution
Diarrhoea deaths/ year
Diarrhoea DALYs/ 1000 capita per year
Deaths/ year DALYs /1000 capita per year
Deaths/ year DALYs/ 1000 capita per year
Namibia 200 2,5 100 0,9 <100 0.1
South Africa 12 300 8 3 200 1,3 1 100 0,2
Tanzania 32 700 27 18 900 16 1 200 0,4
Zambia 12 700 38 8 700 26 1 100 1,4
Zimbabwe 6 700 16 3 800 8 600 0,5
Source: WHO Public Health & Environment (2009). Estimates based on national exposure and WHO country
health statistics 2004
Mining activities are associated with environmental pollution with potentially severe health
impacts and high concentrations of toxic waste, chemicals and heavy metals in certain
locations can have severe environmental health impacts. In Zimbabwe, zinc, copper, iron,
cobalt and nickel contaminates water resources. Excessive exposure to iron can, for instance,
result in severe stomach pains and the damaging of internal organs, especially the brain and
liver. Excessive intake of zinc can lead to neurological damage, anaemia, bone marrow failure
and damage to the central nervous system, while high exposure to nickel has some negative
health effects such as skin rash, asthma-like reactions, bronchitis and poor lung
function.54Cyanide and mercury, other highly toxic chemicals often utilised in mining, are
associated with a number of health effects such as kidney and brain damage, skin rashes, gene
damage and failure of the central nervous system among other detrimental health failures.
Properly functioning wastewater treatment plants at industrial sites are crucial to reduce the
pollution.
Largely as a response to drought and hunger, at least one million Zimbabweans, especially in
the drier parts of the country, have taken to artisanal / small-scale mining (ASM) as a source
of livelihoods. ASM is often associated with hard, unregulated work and is dangerous when
mercury is used (which is most often the case for gold panning). It is estimated that over 70%
of small-scale miners have some level of mercury poisoning.55 As an example of water
pollution from mining, a study has shown that the water in the Save River is so heavily
contaminated, so it is no longer suitable for domestic consumption56.
3.3 Impacts on Economic development
Zimbabwe’s economy is natural resource-based and depends heavily on agriculture and
mining. The potential for economic growth in Zimbabwe is closely linked with development
of its natural resources. With population growth, the aspiration for higher standards of living
and increasing demands both at national and global level, the pressure on Zimbabwe’s natural
resources will inevitably increase. Zimbabwe must balance the need of making productive use
of its natural resources with maintaining its asset base through development investments.
54 MAC Mines and Communities, Zimbabwe website 55 The Zimbabwean, website 56 The Africa Report, website
13
In 2013, agriculture constituted about 12% of the GDP while employing 66% of the labour
force. Mining made up around 10% of the GDP but offers limited employment opportunities.
The mining sector constitutes around 65% of export earnings, and agriculture 28%.57
The mining sector operates below capacity amid a host of challenges, including depressed
metal prices, lower capital and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows, high cost structures,
sub-optimal royalties and power shortages.58 The mining industry accounts for over a tenth of
GDP and nearly half of export revenues. Gold, platinum, nickel, asbestos, diamonds and coal
are some of the important minerals extracted.59
The mining sector in Zimbabwe is heavily affected by exogenous factors. The revenues are
declining. The average revenue generated by the mining sector since 2011 is $2 billion which
declined to $1,8 billion in 201560 The industry testifies that the decline in revenues is due to
low output and the subdued international commodities prices among other factors.
In Zimbabwe the mining sector has been the backbone of the economy since 2009 when the
country dollarised. Mining generates income and foreign exchange through exports and
stimulates local economies through local purchase of inputs.
Income from the mining sector activities is spent on domestically produced services, tax
revenue which is available to fund education health and roads electricity and to enhance
infrastructural development, capital expenditure and direct and indirect employment .
After the initiation of the Fast Track Land Reform (FTLR) programme in 2000 the
agricultural productivity fell significantly. Zimbabwe, who used to be a substantial exporter of
agricultural products and self-sufficient in foodstuffs, became an importer of food: in 2012
USD731 million of food was imported (11% of total imports)61.
The agricultural sector has picked up and the growth in the sector helps to counterbalance the
decrease in the mining sector, due to falling mineral prices. Tobacco production increased
significantly in 2014 as the number of growers and the acreage increased. The increase in
producer prices also boosted sales prospects for the 2014/15 agriculture season, and
production of the main crops – maize, tobacco and cotton – is expected to remain on an
upward trend. However, also the agricultural sector is vulnerable, particularly to climate
variations and change, over utilization, and inadequate water management practices.
The manufacturing sector dropped between 2011 and 2014: according to the African
Economic Outlook for Zimbabwe, at least 4 610 companies closed down during this period,
resulting in a loss of 55 443 jobs. On top of this, more than 80% of workers are employed in
the informal sector.62
At the national level the contribution of biodiversity to the economy of Zimbabwe still has to
be adequately valued. However, a 2012 quantification study done by the Ministry of
Environment, Water and Climate showed that biodiversity contributed between USD42
million and USD49 million in export earnings from game products such as skins, hides, and
trophies. The same study reported that export earnings from biodiversity products and
photographic safaris were estimated by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe at USD96.95 million.
57 AfDB et al (2015) 58 AfDB et al. (2015) 59 Utrikepolitiska institutet 60 The Herald 61 Professor Tony Hawins, Commercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe, website 62 AfDB et al. (2015)
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Tourism is another important sector which is heavily dependent on maintained environmental
quality and biodiversity, as well as access to water supply, sanitation, electricity and other
infrastructure and services.63
At the regional level, a recent economic valuation study in the Zambezi River Basin shows
that the value of the ecosystem services in the Zambezi river system is astonishing. The study
estimates that the annual total value of river-dependent ecosystem services in the Zambezi
delta is between USD930 million and USD1.6 billion.64 Agriculture, fisheries, livestock,
tourism, and domestic water supply are included here.
The right to private property is an important part of Zimbabwe’s Bill of Rights in the new
constitution; it is guaranteed and protected. There have, however, been media reports on farm
evictions targeting white-owned farms during the course of the year 2014. Insecure tenure
negatively affects the incentive for businesses to invest in the country, and it prevents farmers
from making long-term investments to improve productivity or manage commons.
The UN disaster database lists number of affected people, number of deaths, as well as
estimated costs of total damage of certain natural hazards (see Annex 1 for more details)65.
While droughts affect most people, flooding is by far the most costly natural hazard in
Zimbabwe in terms of total damage. Between 1990 and 2015, flooding and storms accounted
for over USD297 million, while damage costs for droughts amounted to USD50 million (costs
of epidemics are not estimated).
In November 2014, the EU lifted economic and trade restrictions against Zimbabwe, which
is likely to result in a normalisation of relation and resumption of development and finance
co-operation. The decision was made after improvements in the political environment after
the adoption of a new constitution and peaceful elections in July 2013.66
4. Policy framework and institutional capacity for managing environmental challenges
4.1. Integration of environment in the policy framework
The newly revised Constitution of Zimbabwe from 2013, gives every person environmental
rights that include the right: a) to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-
being; and b) to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future
generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that: i) prevent pollution and
ecological degradation; ii) promote conservation; and iii) secure ecologically sustainable
development and use of natural resources while promoting economic and social development.
Thus, the Constitution caters for the right to a clean environment, access to safe water and
states that pollution must be prevented. The Constitution further stipulates that the ‘State must
take reasonable legislative and other measures, within the limits of the resources available to
it, to achieve the progressive realisation of the rights set out in this section’.
The Constitution states that an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment shall be
performed by project developers, where impacts on livelihoods, ecology and cultural rights
shall be described and assessed.
63 UNCT and GoZ (2014) 64 NEPAD website 65 EM-DAT Zimbabwe website 66 AfDB et al. (2015)
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A lack of strict regulated mining sector results in environmental degradation and pollution of
toxic and/or hazardous substances with severe consequences on human and environmental
health. However, the legal and fiscal systems in place to regulate the mining sector and
mineral resources are inadequate. The Mining Act from 1961, focuses on extraction “with no
regard for sustainable development”67 and fails to acknowledge the role of other than state
actors and private mining companies in the mining sectors, ignoring community organisations
and ASM actors. An assessment of the draft Minerals Policy in 2014 concludes that the policy
improves the mining Act’s weaknesses. It includes provisions for transparency and
accountability through adoption of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and that
it recognises the role of other than traditional mining actors.68 The Zimbabwe Environmental
Law Association (ZELA) recommends that impact on human rights (including gender) should
be included in the environmental and social impact assessment to be performed prior to
development.
The Environmental Management Act of 2002 also recognises environmental rights as human
rights. Also Zimbabwe’s overarching development plan, “Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable
Socio-Economic Transformation”, was crafted to achieve sustainable development and social
equity which will be largely propelled by the exploitation of the country’s human and natural
resources.69 In addition to that, there are several relevant acts like the Parks and Wildlife
Management Act, The Forestry Act, The Communal Lands Forestry Produce Act,
Environmental Management Act, the Environmental Impact Assessment legislation and the
Water Act, which should assist Zimbabwe in its environmental governance.70
The current government initiatives towards mainstreaming environment at the local levels
through the Environmental Management Agency seem commendable. The development of the
Local Environmental Action Plans when implemented, enhance the conservation and
sustainable use of the natural resources as required by the Biodiversity Convention. In
addition, the Draft Model By-laws on “Environment and Natural Resources Conservation” for
adoption by Rural District and Urban Councils contain measures aimed at regulating and
controlling the indiscriminate cutting of trees, burning of vegetation, invasive alien species,
protection of wetlands and watercourses, air pollution, solid and effluent waste management,
genetic resources, hazardous substances and toxic chemicals among others.71
When it comes to climate change, Zimbabwe signed and ratified the UNFCCC in 1992. It has
since submitted two national communications, in 1998 and 2013. The government has
renamed the previous Ministry of of Environment and Natural Resource Management to the
Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate and is developing a National Climate Change
Response Strategy. The draft strategy of 2013 includes a national action plan for adaptation
and mitigation, analysis of strategy enablers, climate change governance and implementation
framework. Climate change considerations have also been incorporated into some aspects of
development and growth planning, like the Medium Term Plan (MTP) of 2011-2015. 72
For climate related Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)73, the government is the main player
when it comes to coordination through the Civil Protection Unit, which includes key agencies
67 Dhliwayo (2014) 68 Dhliwayo (2014) 69 GoZ INDC (2015) 70 WWF (2015) 71 UNCT and GoZ (2014) 72 UNCT (2014); WWF (2015; and Grantham Research Institute (2015). 73 Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) aims to reduce the damage caused by natural hazards like earthquakes, floods, droughts and cyclones, through an ethic of prevention.
16
in charge of disaster early warning response and recovery. Seasonal forecasts of crop yields
and rangeland conditions are coordinated under the drought mitigation strategy framework.74
Zimbabwe’s efforts towards Disaster Risk Management (DRM)75 are informed by the global,
regional and national policy frameworks. At a global level, the country is signatory to the
2005- 2015 Hyogo Framework for Action which requires governments to strengthen DRM
governance, risk and early warning information, disaster education, reduction of underlying
risks and emergency preparedness and response. At a national level, the DRM Strategy is
premised on the draft DRM Bill and draft DRM Policy which will transform the Department
of Civil Protection to the Department of Disaster Risk Management. The Draft DRM Bill and
Draft DRM Policy give authority to the Department of Disaster Risk Management Principal
Director to establish and coordinate the development and implementation of a National DRM
Strategy in order to minimize vulnerability to disasters triggered by natural, human made,
environmental and radiological hazards. DRM need further technical support and
strengthening. DRM specifically implies elements of information management, prevention,
mitigation and strengthening resilience, preparedness and response and early recovery. It has
been recommended that the Government pulls together resources and technical support to
support the implementation of the DRM strategy and Bill. That will help reduce the impact of
disasters, improve data management for preparedness and recovery, and increase the overall
resilience of the nation. Challenges affecting Disaster Risk Management stem from a lack of
integrated information management system, lack of a systematic framework for capturing
drought losses and impacts, limited awareness, lack of a comprehensive social protection
policy that integrates post-disaster recovery, lack of sectoral policies and strategies that
address chronic food insecurity regions.76
4.2 Governance, implementation and enforcement
The policy frameworks and the institutional set-up for managing environmental challenges in
Zimbabwe, with a few exceptions, seem quite robust. The main problem relates to
implementation and enforcement of existing legislation and policies, further hampered by a
lack of good governance, including lack of transparency and accountability, and weak
coordination and cross-sectoral cooperation.
The problem of enforcement is a key question in tackling the environmental challenges in
Zimbabwe, due to the lack of human and financial resources and the difference in
interpretation of the statues across government institutions. Low levels of awareness amongst
the judiciary and the police are other factors leading to challenges of implementation and
enforcement.
Integration of environmental concerns in plans and strategies, poor capacity and coordination
among law enforcement agencies, highly sectoral and compartmentalised understanding of
development issues and a lack of transparency, accountability and political will to enforce the
laws etc., are all challenges to environmental sustainability in Zimbabwe.77
This is a particular concern in relation to environmental and social impacts from mining as
the consequences are so grave on human and environmental health. The EIA regulation is
74 GoZ INDC (2015) 75 Disaster Risk Management (DRM) is the systematic process of using administrative directives, organizations, and operational skills and capacities to implement strategies, policies and improved coping capacities in order to lessen the adverse impacts of hazards and the possibility of disaster. 76 UNCT and GoZ (2014) 77 UNCT and GoZ (2014)
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poorly implemented; the EIA reports lack detailed assessment of the impacts from the mining
on ecology, livelihoods and cultural rights of communities. According to the Zimbabwe
Environmental Law Association, “the government has abdicated its duty to protect, promote
and uphold the rights of the people and has become complicity in repressing rural and poor
communities”78. ZELA warns for the “natural resource curse scenario.
It is unclear which Government agency that has the mandate to coordinate environmental
information systems in Zimbabwe. The Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of
Zimbabwe has taken a lead in establishing a SADC regional network for training in
environmental issues. The environmental technical community is small, and well networked
through personal contacts.79
Regarding the executive branch of government, a number of external accountability
institutions and mechanisms exist. Nevertheless, their operations are hampered by an
inadequate allocation of resources. Overall, policy uncertainty has increased the risk premium
attached to investing in Zimbabwe.80
5. Other issues
5.1 Green economy - Lessons learnt from green economy/green growth strategies in Kenya, South Africa and Ethiopia
Climate change, land degradation, deforestation, water pollution and lack of access to water
pose significant risks to a country like Zimbabwe and its possibility to attain sustainable
development. In addition driving forces such as high population growth, rapid urbanisation,
and economic growth put additional pressures on the country’s natural resources and
environmental quality. However, rightly managed, economic growth also constitutes an
opportunity to reduce environmental pressures and a source of financing for much needed
environmental investments.
According to the OECD study “Putting Green Growth at the Heart of Development -
Summary for Policymakers”81 there are different approaches to addressing the green growth
concept82. Some are focusing on setting out the vision and use of planning tools to integrate
green growth, others on policy reform and implementation, and others on developing the
human and institutional capacities for good governance. Below follows examples of three
countries attempts to move towards a greener growth; Ethiopia, Kenya and South Africa.
Ethiopia’s Climate-Resilient Green Economy Strategy (CRGE) 83, launched in 2011, provides
a vision, high-level commitment and constitutes important initiatives to promote resource
efficient, low-polluting alternatives to business-as-usual economic growth. It builds on an
investment plan of over 60 initiatives that are, or can be, turned into financed projects. While
building a climate-resilient green economy, Ethiopia’s vision is to achieve middle-income
status by 2025. Thematically the investment plan (of +60 initiatives) covers four different areas
of work pillars of work: (i) Improving crop and livestock production practices, (ii) protecting
78 ZELA website 79 FAO website 80 AfDB et al. (2015) 81 OECD (2013) 82 Green growth presents a new approach to economic growth that puts human well‑being at the centre of development, while
ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services to support sustainable development. The concept of green growth will help to achieve sustainable development, but is narrower in scope , and provides a policy agenda that can help achieve concrete, measurable progress at the interface of the economy and the environment. 83 Federal Republic of Ethiopia (2011)
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and re-establishing forests, (iii) expanding electric power generation from renewable sources
and (iv) leapfrogging to modern and energy-efficient technologies. The CRGE strategy is seen
as an opportunity for Ethiopia as it focuses on certain critical natural resource endowments, and
addresses (socio-economically and environmentally) linked risks facing the country with a
comprehensive approach. It identifies low-cost measures, and relies (to a large extent) on
attracting international and private finance.
One of the crucial factors to reach the target of the CRGE is a sustainable (economically,
socially and environmentally) private sector development. The recently adopted Ethiopian
second Growth and Transformation Plan aims at maintaining rapid and sustainable economic
growth and also focuses on transforming the economy. Ethiopia is now moving towards a
more diverse economy with investments in commercial agriculture and at the same time the
country is also attempting to move beyond agriculture encouraging other industrial
investments with large focus on the manufacturing sector. However, in this regard the country
is also facing many challenges in terms of low awareness, lack of capacity, policy gaps, and
lack of new technology and technological innovation. There are gaps between the
environmental commitments made and the actual implementation to improve environmental
outcomes. Furthermore, existing policy gaps leads to unsustainable use of natural resources and
it inhibits the creation and adoption of new technologies which will hamper Ethiopia’s goal to
move towards a green economy. For example, expansion in the agricultural sector requires
policies that are up to date with the current situation to make sure that commercial farming are
being done sustainably. Moreover, there are no environmental economic policy instruments in
place to provide incentives for investments in greener technologies and less use of
environmentally harmful substances.
Kenya Green Economy Strategy and Implementation Plan (GESIP)84, draft as of May 2015,
seem to focus on policy reform and implementation. The strategy focuses on 5 areas: (i)
promoting sustainable infrastructure development, (ii) building resilience, (iii) sustainable
natural resource management, (iv) promoting resource efficiency and (v) social inclusion and
sustainable livelihood. The areas of work has been identified through a participatory and
consultative process and it also mentions the importance of consistency with the SDGs. The
strategy describes the definition of green economy in the Kenyan context i.e. a shift towards
a development path that promotes resource efficiency and sustainable management of natural
resources, social inclusion, resilience, and sustainable infrastructure development (no global
consensus on what green economy concept entails exist). It is too early to say anything
concerning lessons learnt from Kenya with regard to the GESIP. It remains to be seen if the
GEISP is yet another visionary document or a roadmap resulting in concrete actions which
will support Kenya in moving towards a greener economy.
South Africa Green Economy Strategy85 includes mitigation targets, a large section on green
jobs and the benefits and several key sectors expected to drive SA’s Green Economy. Also, it
identifies nine key focus areas for implementation (see Annex 2). The Strategy was guided by
the outcomes of the national Green Economy summit in 2010 and is also part of larger plan
for the country: National Strategy for Sustainable Development and Action Plan86.
84 Kenya (2015) 85 Republic of South Africa, about green economy website 86 Republic of South Africa, about National Strategy for Sustainable Development and Action Plan website
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The multiple environmental risks to human well-being faced by developing countries stem
from: 1) unsustainable natural resource exploitation; 2) lack of access to food, water and
energy and a lack of basic infrastructure; 3) deadly air and water pollution in a context of
rapid urbanisation and population growth; 4) the large share of rural people’s livelihoods
dependent on natural resources; and 5) high vulnerability to climate change impacts.87 Many
of these risks are common for the three countries.
It could be interesting to further explore the possibilities to carry out an Environmental
Performance Review (EPR) in Zimbabwe88. Made by OECD for many countries but not yet
for any African countries. However, for example, Tanzania has made a public environment
expenditure review (PEER). It was conducted in 2004 and compared the government’s real
levels, trends and distribution of environmental expenditure to the ideal levels required to
meet the country’s linked environmental and poverty reduction objectives. By demonstrating
the value of environmental investment for livelihoods, it contributed to a fivefold increase in
the environment authority’s budget in 2006 (Markandya et al., 2006).
5.2 Sustainable energy89
Energy supply
Energy as of 2012 is primarily supplied by biofuels and waste (66.1%), followed by coal
(21.6%), oil (7.4%) and hydropower (4.9%). Electricity is produced by hydropower (59%)
and coal (41%). Most rural areas face wood fuel shortages due to land use change to
agricultural use and unsustainable firewood harvesting. Zimbabwe has 12bn metric tonnes of
coal resources and approximately 40 terra cu ft. of potential coal bed methane (CBM), and
37% of total households have access to the grid electricity from power lines. There is a
significant gap between urban and rural households, with 83% of urban homes having access
to the grid and just 13% in rural areas.
The National Energy Policy (2012) published by the Ministry of Energy and Power
Development (MOEPD), encourages Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to develop
renewable sources of energy (biomass, hydropower, liquid biofuel, animal draught power,
solar and potentially geothermal). The National Energy Policy also provides that the MOEPD
will initiate the process of developing a Rural and Renewable Energy Act to establish Rural
Energy Fund, which would promote energy services in rural areas using renewable energy.
The policy also recommends establishing an Energy Research Council to promote research on
the use of renewable resources. The Ministry of Energy and Power Development is
establishing a regulatory board to regulate the energy sector. This change will take place once
the draft Energy Regulatory Bill goes through reading and adoption. This will amend the
Petroleum Act and the Electricity Act so that a single board regulates petroleum industry,
electricity sector and any other energy resources.
Energy demand
Just 6% of total electricity is consumed by rural households, compared to 73% by urban
households, and firewood is a very important source of energy in rural areas. The National
87 OECD (2013) 88 The Environmental Performance Reviews (EPRs) identify good practices and make recommendations to improve the reviewed country’s environmental policies and programmes.http://www.oecd.org/env/country-reviews/reviewingenvironmentalperformance.htm 89 Data regarding sustainable energy from Government of Zimbabwe (2012b).
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Energy Plan provides that the Government will develop a comprehensive household energy
plan to tackle the inefficient use of energy, as well as addressing shortages and the
affordability of energy. The Government has proposed supplying 4.5m compact fluorescent
light bulbs and introducing a prepaid metering system as ways to improve energy efficiency
and reduce peak demand. The National Energy Policy notes the importance of improving
energy efficiency in the household, transport and agriculture sectors, though this is primarily
motivated by cost and supply rather than climate change concerns. The Policy calls for the
promotion of energy efficiency across all sectors, for investment in energy efficiency and
conservation programmes, for energy efficiency standards and best practices, to promote
demand-side management technology production and transfer, and for encouraging farmer-
training programmes to include energy efficiency and planning training
5.3 Zimbabwe’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution
Zimbabwe’s Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC)90 was submitted to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2015. The
document clarifies that the country seeks to build resilience to climate change whilst ensuring
sustainable development in recognition of its climate change vulnerability and national
circumstances. In presenting its INDC, Zimbabwe seeks to contribute to the global ambitious
goal of limiting temperature rise to below 1.5o C which was decided on at the COP 21
Climate summit in Paris. Given the country’s geographic location, development context and
low carbon footprint the INDC underlines that the main climate change thrust remains
adaptation and poverty reduction. However, strategically beneficial mitigation actions present
a good opportunity for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time enhancing
socio-economic growth and improving livelihoods, in particular when such action is
supported by finance, capacity-building, technology development and transfer. The country’s
vast potential for renewable energy production such as hydropower and solar, which
combined with energy efficiency and other related environmentally sound projects, can
establish a “double dividend” where Zimbabwe can both achieve a successful poverty
alleviation and increase the low carbon energy access for its citizens.
Given the national focus on adaptation, the INDC lists a lot of activities in this field that will
reduce vulnerability and increase resilience to negative climate change impacts. Encouraging
adapted crop and livestock development and farming practices as well as strengthening
management of water resources and irrigation in the face of climate change are two important
actions in order to achieve these objectives.
The Mitigation Contribution for Zimbabwe is given as 33% below the projected “Business As
Usual” energy emissions per capita by 2030 compared to 2020.
5.4 Sustainable Development Goals
On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development – adopted by world leaders at the United Nations Sustainable
Development Summit 25 - 27 September 2015 in New York – officially came into force (see
Table 2 for a list of the SGDs). Over the next fifteen years, with these new Goals that
universally apply to all, countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight
inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that “no one is left behind”.
90 GoZ INDC (2015) 91 UN SDG Summit, website
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The new SDGs92 are unique in that they call for action by all countries, poor, rich and middle-
income to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty
must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and addresses a range of
social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while
tackling climate change and environmental protection.
All the SDGs are interlinked and interdependent, co-created solutions for pathways forward
that transform how we plan, produce, consume and organize society are needed. No goal can
be achieved by actions only implemented in the “silo” of its own sector.
Table 2. The seventeen Sustainable Development Goals
SDG Description
Goal 1: No poverty End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2: Zero hunger End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 3: Good health and wellbeing Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4: Quality education Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning
Goal 5: Gender equality Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth
Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Goal 10: Reduced inequalities Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities
Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
Goal 13: Climate Action Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 14: Life below water Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
Goal 15: Life on land Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
Goal 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions
Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies
Goal 17: Partnership for the goals Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
92 UN SDG 17 goals, website
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Chapter 7.2 describes how the environmental challenges in Zimbabwe are linked to the SDGs
and could be addressed by Sida.
5.5 Human rights and environment & climate change
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) there are three main dimensions of the
interrelationship between human rights and environmental protection:
The environment as a prerequisite for the enjoyment of human rights.
Certain human rights, especially access to information, participation in decision-making,
and access to justice in environmental matters, as essential to good environmental
decision-making.
The right to a safe, healthy and ecologically-balanced environment as a human right
itself.93
The impacts of environmental degradation and climate change on land, freshwater
resources, ecosystems and human settlements are already undermining access to clean water,
food, shelter and other basic human needs. The impacts constitute a serious interference with
the exercise of fundamental human rights, such as the rights to life, health, food, housing
and adequate standard of living. There are obligations of governments and private actors to
respond to these impacts in terms of procedural obligations (that the affected public is
informed about impacts, involved in public decision and given access to administrative,
judicial and other remedies). Then there are substantive obligations for all governments to
protect human rights from harm related to the environment and climate, respond to core
drivers, cooperate internationally, address transboundary impacts and safeguard human rights
in all mitigation and adaptation activities. States also have unique obligations with respect to
certain groups, including women, children and indigenous people. Private actors also have
obligations to address the human rights implications of climate change, and should refer to the
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.94
As described in section 5, the newly (2013) adopted Constitution in Zimbabwe, guides the
State to formulate and implement laws and policy decisions that include environmental,
economic and social rights. The Constitution embraces environmental rights and encourages
environmental protection. The section on the right to life is well supported by other rights
such as environmental rights, rights to health, water and sanitation. There is also a section
which says that every person has the right to an environment that is not harmful to their health
or wellbeing, and that every person has the right to have the environment protected for the
benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures
that prevent pollution and ecological degradation; promote conservation; and secure
ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting economic
and social development. Finally the right to healthcare and right to water and sufficient food
are also addressed in the Constitution.95
93 UNEP, website 94 UNEP (2015) 95 Chigumira (2015)
23
Hence, in the case of Zimbabwe there is potential to use the Constitution to claim rights
related to environment with strong links to human rights. For example if an environmental
activist in Zimbabwe is arrested because the person is protesting against establishment of a
factory or mining industry affecting the ability for agriculture, access to water, fishing, etc,
that person can then claim that it is in the Constitution that all people in Zimbabwe have the
right to an environment that is not harmful to their health or wellbeing etc. This has clear links
to the poverty perspective including vulnerability and involves both freedom of expression,
the right to organize, the right to participation, the right to access to information and all based
and started with claiming environmental rights.
There are a number of ways to support the interaction between human rights and
environment & climate change. The human rights based approach (HRBA) provides a good
basis to look further into interaction between human rights and environment & climate
change. Sida’s application of HRBA entails a focus on both which human rights to target, and
how to do it in a way that is based on and leads to the four human rights principles of; non-
discrimination, participation, transparency and accountability. In a study done for Danida in
Zimbabwe in 201596 various options were proposed on how to to broaden the scope of their
democratic and accountable governance programme (including human rights and the rights
based approach), it was proposed to address environmental rights to reduce operational risks
for civil society and offer a neutral platform for civic engagement and capacity building on
citizens’ rights (and also provide a platform for broader rights). It was also seen as an
opportunity to educate and capacitate legislators in debating and making informed decisions
on issues/policies and legislation pertaining to climate change and green growth. Furthermore
it was seen as an possibility to support the process of alignment of national laws with the new
Constitution to enable human, political and environmental rights to be claimed and remedies
sought. Another area where environment and human rights could be supported, is when it
comes to lack of systematic monitoring or awareness of the growing threat to environmental
and land activists in killings and a wide range of other abuses. National governments and
judicial systems are regularly failing to protect their citizens from harm.97 This is an area
which needs to be further looked into if one want to support the links between environment
and human rights.
6. Risks and opportunities
6.1 Risks
Many of the environmental risks have already been highlighted, especially in section 2, and a
main conclusion is that if the natural resources are not managed in a sustainable way, there is
a great risk for economic loss and poverty increase. With a strong dependence on natural
resources, with mining and agriculture as a major source of income in Zimbabwe, well-
functioning environmental management and strong enforcement of laws and regulations are
essential.
Risks become complex since environmental challenges are interdependent and mutually
reinforcing, a very concrete example of that is climate change. Climate change will affect
water predictability and availability, which in its turn will impact agriculture, electricity
production (particularly hydropower), and industrial development including mining. This will
96 Chigumira (2015) 97 Global Witness (2014)
24
have effects on livelihood opportunities for the most vulnerable and poor, as well as on the
national economy at large. Increasing water stress is a serious concern. In addition to impacts
on human basic needs, water scarcity will have implications for hydropower production (as
reduced reservoir inflows, due to decreased basin runoff and more frequent and prolonged
drought conditions), and irrigation. Continued dependence only on hydropower systems could
exacerbate the economic impact of reduced ecosystem services already associated with river
development.
Human activities will have a larger impact on the scarce water resources in terms of quantity
and quality. Increasing water scarcity will result in increased competition between water using
sector and geographic areas, with potential conflicts. Another example of interdependence is
deforestation, which will cause land degradation affecting biodiversity as well as ecosystem
services (eg water regulation).
The environment is inseparable from the economy, poverty, health, livelihoods and food
security, which is why it is of outmost importance for Zimbabwe to address its environmental
challenges.
6.2 Opportunities
With the abundant natural resources in Zimbabwe, including land, biodiversity and minerals,
there is a great potential for economic development and eventually poverty reduction if these
resources are used in an environmentally sustainable way.
For agriculture specifically, there is an increased availability of land to small scale farmers,
ongoing diversification, research & technology development initiatives and potential benefits
from cash production initiatives. There is also a potential for educational and outreach
activities to change management practices to those suited to climate change, improve and
conserve soils, develop new crops, develop early warning systems and disaster preparedness.
When it comes to water resources there is also a potential to increase water supply, e.g. by
using groundwater, building reservoirs, improving or stabilizing watershed management,
desalination and decrease water demands by increasing efficiency, reducing water losses,
water recycling and changing irrigation practices. Diversifying the use of the ecosystem
services of the Zambezi for other purposes than hydropower thus presents an economic
opportunity for Zimbabwe.
As earlier described, there is a great potential in Zimbabwe to address environmental
concerns, with a relatively new constitution from 2013 stating that every person living in
Zimbabwe has the right to safe, clean and potable water, furthermore it states the right to a
clean environment and puts forward measure to prevent pollution. It also has an
Environmental Management Act, recognising environmental rights as human rights. This is
quite unique from a rights based perspective and a great opportunity to move the country
forward in terms of environmental sustainability.
Zimbabwe will also have opportunities to tap into international funding, especially climate
finance and should put in place systems and structures that enable it to take full advantage of
the global finance in support of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.
With strengthened institutional capacity, enforced legislation, enhanced public awareness and
political will, there are definitely opportunities to address environmental challenges in
Zimbabwe.
25
7. Conclusions
From this brief review it can be concluded that Zimbabwe faces a number of serious
environmental challenges which need to be addressed. Sweden will have to focus on which of
all these environmental challenges to target in the new strategy, given the broad draft mandate
by the Government of Sweden to focus on: “The area of improved environment, limited
climate impact, and strengthened resilience against environmental degradation, climate
change and natural disasters, specifically generation of, and access to, sustainable energy, and
the contribution of a green economy to productive employment and entrepreneurship.”
7.1 Ongoing Swedish support related environment and climate change
Swedish ongoing development cooperation with Zimbabwe focus on democracy, human
rights, gender equality, and access to basic social services in health and education for
vulnerable groups. Environment, climate change, resilience, and energy have not been part of
the Swedish portfolio earlier. A sustainable multidisciplinary approach is seen as important,
and experiences gained in previous support to Zimbabwe will need to feed into the area of
environment and climate change, not least a rights based approach. The present Swedish
development support to Zimbabwe is channelled through civil society and multilateral
organisations which are likely to be main partners in the next strategy, as well as cooperation
with private actors.
Sweden, in its development cooperation with Zimbabwe, has already developed thoughts on
how to strengthen their work on environment and climate change. According to the yearly
plan for development cooperation with Zimbabwe 2016 by Sida (2016), the proportion of
efforts to integrate environment and climate change is estimated to be about 20% of the
interventions, corresponding to 40% of the volume. Today it is mainly the large projects
through UNICEF that integrates environment and climate change. The goal of the embassy is
to increase the number of interventions integrating environment and climate change with two
contributions, from 5 to 7 contributions. It is also said to be important to) ensure quality for
the policy markers for environment and climate change 2) identify opportunities to strengthen
environment and climate change focus in ongoing efforts and new contributions 3) identify
initiatives where environment and climate change can be introduced as a dialogue issue.
Possible efforts to integrate environment and climate change is said to be in Zimbabwe Works
Phase ii, and programmes through CARE and IOM.
The only effort that currently specifies the policy marker "climate adaptation" is support to
the Zimbabwe Reconstruction Fund (Zimref). The Government is presently developing a
National Climate Change Policy, based on a previously developed national strategy for action
on climate change ("National Climate Change Response Strategy"). Within the framework of
the World Bank's multi-donor fund (Zimref), a project concept has been developed to increase
the government's capacity to integrate climate change into planning, development and
implementation of development projects with a special focus on the management of natural
resources. The project aims to develop a framework to support, fund and monitor climate
action, including an overview of public investment activities with a bearing on the climate.
The sectors that have been identified are water, agriculture, energy and forestry sectors.98
98 Sida (2016)
26
7.2 Issues for Sida to consider
In a separate document “Mapping Study of Possible Swedish Interventions to support a
Green Economy Context of Zimbabwe”, a consultant has been contracted by the Embassy in
Harare, in parallel to this brief, to develop a brief of how Sweden can support the Green
Economy Context of Zimbabwe, including 5-7 areas of possible intervention areas/options
that realistically can be addressed during the coming strategy period (2016-2020). The
interventions to be proposed in the study, addressing the new strategy area on
environment/climate/energy proposed by the Government of Sweden, will be focused on
synergies between renewable energy and green productive jobs for youth (including
entrepreneurs) and have a strong focus on gender. The interventions proposed should be of
relative large size or be clustered so they can be implemented as a coordinated project/single
agreement or as part of an agreement in another sector. Openings for synergies between the
various interventions should also be investigated and developed to avoid duplication of efforts
and optimize resource allocation Co-financing with other donors or development
banks/actors is also said to be of interest.
Hence this policy brief will not go into proposing specific interventions but rather broadly,
based on the challenges addressed above, propose some general ideas on areas for future
interventions.
As mentioned above in section 7.1, there are already three programmes identified with
possibilities for environment and climate change integration, two under private sector and
employment creation (Zimbabwe works and CARE) and one under democracy, hr & gender
(IOM). Integration of environment and climate change into the current portfolio will be
crucial for the present and future strategy for Swedish development cooperation with
Zimbabwe. By integrating environment and climate change into the ongoing programmes, it
will lead to a more solid base when developing specific support to separate programmes on
environment and climate changes specifically.
Based on the findings in this brief, there are a number of environmental challenges which
could be addressed. Below is an attempt to list some areas which could be supported in
relation to a few selected sectors, to serve as ideas for further discussions. The order of the
issues listed here also serves as a suggestion from the Helpdesk on how the various challenges
should be prioritized by the embassy
Climate Change Adaptation
Climate change is of great importance for both economic development and poverty reduction,
and will worsen already existing environmental and climate challenges. Adaptation will be
necessary. Support could link specifically to SDG1, SDG 2, SDG3, SDG6, SDG7, SDG13,
and SDG15.
Educational & outreach activities to change management practices to those suited to
climate change.
Switch to different cultivars.
Improve and conserve soils.
Develop new crops.
Develop early warning systems and disaster preparedness.
Increase water supply, e.g. by using groundwater, building reservoirs, improving or
stabilizing watershed management and desalination.
Decrease water demands, e.g. by increasing efficiency, reducing water losses, water
recycling, changing irrigation practices.
27
Develop and introduce flood and drought monitoring and control system.
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that is collected from resources which are
naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves,
and geothermal heat. Specific interventions on renewable will be proposed in the mapping
study but a few ideas are listed below. The most obvious link is to SDG 7, SDG 8, and SDG
13, but could also link to SDG 1, SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 8, SDG 9, SDG 10, SDG 11, SDG 12,
and SDG 15, depending on how it is designed.
Investigating sustainable off-grid electricity options for rural electrification
Investigating the opportunities and barriers to households climbing the “energy ladder”; to
go from fuelwood to less polluting (mainly in-door air pollution) energy sources
Study to gain knowledge on what conditions that should prevail in order for electrification
to promote a “take-off” and increase productivity for small and medium sized enterprises,
and collect lessons from other countries.
Biodiversity and ecosystem services
Biodiversity and ecosystems provides important life-supporting functions and services.
Support in this area links particularly to SDG 15, but could also link to SDG 1m SDG2, SDG
3, SDG 5, SDG 6, SDG 13 and SDG 14.
Support mainstreaming of biodiversity issues into different sectoral policies for
sustainable development.
Support biodiversity conservation in protected areas through co-management agreements
etc.
Engage women in decision-making positions on natural resource management committees
and community ownership trusts.
Human Rights
The environment is as a prerequisite to the enjoyment of human rights. It is important to
improve the understanding of the direct and indirect links between the protection of the
environment and the enjoyment of human rights. Links in particular to SDG 10, SDG 15 and
SDG 16.
Address environmental rights to reduce operational risks for civil society and offer a
neutral platform for civic engagement and capacity building on citizens’ rights.
Educate and capacitate legislators in debating and making informed decisions on
issues/policies and legislation pertaining to climate change and green growth.
Support the process of alignment of national laws with the Constitution to enable human,
political and environmental rights to be claimed and remedies sought.
Improve the systematic monitoring or awareness of the growing threat to environmental
and land activists in killings and a wide range of other abuses.
Agriculture
28
A majority of the people living in poverty and extreme poverty in Zimbabwe are active in the
agricultural sector. There are strong linkages between agriculture and poverty, food security
and nutrition, and could have positive linkages to reduced land degradation. Efforts within the
agricultural sector may have substantial pro-poor impacts. Linkages to SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG
3, SDG 5, SDG 10, SDG 15.
Assistance to reduce the vulnerability of smallholders, for instance through access to
micro credits for investments, increased access to (environmentally friendly) agricultural
inputs, etc.
Support opportunities to add value to agricultural products (processing, certification or
similar).
Support smallholders access to markets (user organisations, pooling of resources, etc).
Assist tenure security (essential for investments).
Capacity building for smallholders on both communal and resettled areas on land
improvement, adaptation, conservation farming and with demonstration sites.
Safe and good management of agro-chemicals.
Support access to water and improved land management (including investments).
Water
Water is intrinsically linked to agriculture, climate change, poverty, economic development,
power supply, and health and is of increasing important to equality when availability is
reduced. Links to particularly SDG 2, SDG 3, SDG 6, SDG 7 and SDG 13. However, being
an input to most human and economic activities, also to SDG 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, and
16 could be relevant, depending on how the support is designed.
Support Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) and concrete measures in
specific basins through investigating how to best support smallholders’ reliable access to
water, today and in the future.
Support IWRM through water governance to help balance and prioritise water use, in sub-
basin organisations (such as ZINWA-SAVE that is supported by Sida through the regional
Pungwe project).
Include water management and development of water supply and sanitation, to help
combat future epidemics of cholera, or malaria or other water- or vector borne diseases.
Assist to establish regulatory system for water quality, and especially for industrial waste
including pollution and wastewater.
Tourism
Eco-tourism may create jobs, conserve nature and promote biodiversity and be a source of
income to communities. Links to SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 5, SDG 8, and SDG 15.
Support eco-tourism.
Support community based natural resource management.
Forestry
Utilising forests for pro-poor activities while maintaining it for improving or maintaining
ecosystem services, links to SDG 1, SDG 2, SDG 3, and SDG 15.
29
Support alternative energy sources to overcome excessive use of fuelwood.
Assist in regulating timber extraction.
Support sustainable land use for cultivation.
Mining
Improved regulation and policy implementation in the mining sector can help to improve both
human and environmental health, fulfil human rights obligations, and may improve
governance through increased transparency and accountability. Support to reducing the
negative effects from mining. Links particularly to SDG 1, SDG 3, SDG 8, SDG 10, SDG 12,
and SDG 15.
Improve quality of EIA regulation and implementation, including transparency and
accountability
Support to organisation that monitor EIAs, including the quality of assessments and how
they are disseminated
Improve transparency and accountability for the mining sector through embracing the
Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).
Support the alignment of mining laws with the provisions of the new Constitution.
Environmental Management
Environmental management is of great importance in tackling the environmental challenges,
due to e.g. the lack of human and financial resources and the difference in interpretation of the
statues across government institutions. Links in particular to SDG 13, SDG 14 and SDG 15,
but also to most other SDGs in a cross-cutting way.
Support implementation and enforcement of existing legislation and policies, as well as
coordination and cross-sectoral cooperation.
Strengthen the interpretation of the statues across government institutions.
Improve awareness amongst the judiciary and the police for improved implementation and
enforcement.
Support to carry out an Environmental Performance Review (EPR) or a Public
Environment Expenditure Review (PEER), if requested by the Government.
Disaster Risk Management and Resilience
Supporting DRM and resilience activities is essential in order to strengthen risk and early
warning information, disaster education, reduction of underlying risks and emergency
preparedness and response. Links in particular to SDG 13, SDG 14 and SDG 15, but also to
most other SDGs in a cross-cutting way.
Support to the implementation of the DRM Strategy and Bill.
Strengthen an integrated information management system and systematic framework for
capturing drought losses and impacts.
Improve awareness on disaster risk management.
Support social protection policy that integrates post-disaster recovery.
Assist in development of policies and strategies that address chronic food insecurity
regions.
30
Green economy
Green economy is defined as an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and
ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the
environment. In a green economy, growth in income and employment are driven by policies
and investments that reduce carbon emissions and pollution, enhance energy and resource
efficiency, and prevent loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Transparent revenue
sharing from natural resource extraction and pollution charges, and targeting of environmental
incomes may speed up poverty reduction, boost green jobs creation, and improve livelihoods
for poor and vulnerable groups. Green economy is closely linked to environmental
management (see above) and is a way to attain sustainable development. Specific
interventions on green economy will be proposed in the parallel mapping study, but a few
suggestions within the area of green economy are made below. The most obvious link is to
SDG 7, SDG 8, and SDG 13, but could also link to SDG 1, SDG 3, SDG 5, SDG 8, SDG 9,
SDG 10, SDG 11, SDG 12, and SDG 15, depending on how it is designed.
Support to prepare a national green economy strategy, and identify synergies and
tradeoffs.
Provide incentives and appropriate institutional arrangements to create an enabling
environment for a green economy
Assessment of costs and benefits of strategies and policies.
Support to capacity building related to Strategic Environmental Assessments.
31
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35
Annex
Annex 1. Impacts of natural hazards in Zimbabwe
Summary of impacts of natural disasters in Zimbabwe between 1990 and 2015
Disaster
type
Disaster
subtype
Events
count
Total
deaths
Total
affected
Total damage
('000 US$)
Drought Drought 7 0 18 512 642 50 000
Epidemic Bacterial
disease
17 4 900 111 349 0
Epidemic Viral disease 2 55 1 338 0
Epidemic Parasitic
disease
1 1 311 500 000 0
Flood -- 3 84 40 102 3 600
Flood Riverine flood 9 271 313 020 272 900
Flood Flash flood 1 3 1 002 20 000
Storm Tropical
cyclone
2 8 0 1 200
Storm Convective
storm
1 10 475 0
Source: EM-DAT Zimbabwe: http://www.emdat.be/country_profile/index.html (accessed
2016-03-01)
36
Annex 2. South African Green Economy Strategy
Nine key focus areas for implementation in South Africa’s Green Economy Strategy:
Green buildings and the built environment: programme includes
· greening private and public buildings
Sustainable transport and infrastructure: programme includes
· promoting non-motorised transport
Clean energy and energy efficiency: programme includes -
· Expanding off-grid options in rural and urban
· REFIT optimisation for large scale renewable and localisation and
· Up-scaling Solar Water Heater rollout
Resource conservation and management: programme includes -
· National payments for ecosystem services
· Up-scale “Working for” programmes
· Infrastructure resilience and ecosystems
· Offset programme
· Wildlife management
Sustainable waste management practices: programme includes -
· Waste beneficiation
· Zero waste community programme for 500 000 households
Agriculture, food production and forestry: programme includes
· integrated sustainable agricultural production
Water management: programme includes -
· Water harvesting
· Alternative technology for effluent management
· Comprehensive municipal water metering (Demand side management)
· Reduce water losses in agriculture, municipalities and mining
Sustainable consumption and production: programme includes -
· Industry specific production methods
· Industrial production technology changes
Environmental sustainability: programme includes -
· Greening large events and legacy (2010 Soccer World Cup, COP17 flagship & Tourism)
and
· Research, awareness and skills development and knowledge management
37
Annex 3. Example of initiative to provide economic incentives for local communities in wildlife conservation
Zimbabwe was among the first African countries to develop an alternative approach to
management of natural resources outside protected areas through the Community Areas
Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE). CAMPFIRE has enabled
local communities to benefit from wildlife hunting revenue streams in their areas. Part of the
revenue is traditionally used to build schools, clinics etc. in targeted areas by Rural District
Councils.
USA brings the highest number of sport hunters to Zimbabwe99. When the USFWS100
suspended the import of elephant trophies into the United States in 2014, which was extended
all of 2015 meant that more than half of the elephant hunts were cancelled in 2014 due to the
U.S. importation ban. The import suspension has caused a massive disruption of hunting
revenue to the CAMPFIRE communities. When CAMPFIRE revenues countrywide are
falling they risk becoming inadequate to incentivize growing numbers of local communities
who are subjected to wildlife damage on a regular basis. Although elephant population figures
have remained stable poaching levels have increased101 in the wake of the CAMPFIRE
shortcomings.
It might be of interest for Zimbabwe to learn from Namibia’s “Communal conservancies” that
have become a conservation success story. Since 1998, the movement, with the support of
WWF, has engaged more than 250,000 community members with the creation of 64
communal conservancies covering 35 million acres of wildlife habitat.
According to WWF102, in the established conservancies, wildlife is now a valued livelihood
asset, with the result that poaching is no longer socially acceptable and populations of wildlife
there have been restored. Human welfare is also improving, thanks to $5.5 million in annual
income and benefits from international and domestic eco-tourism the conservancies generate
for communities. As the revenues for conservancies are not connected to hunting they are thus
more sustainable, not being exposed to future well-meant international tightening on rules
regarding trophy-hunting.
99 About 76% of hunters in CAMPFIRE areas for all animals hunted each year http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160206-American-trophy-hunting-wildlife-conservation/.. 100 US Fish & Wildlife Service 101 WWF (2015). 102 WWF website
